When threatened, it will literally eject its bioluminescence into the water to trick the predator into following the glowing trail while the helmet jellyfish jets off, now unilluminated. The helmet jellyfish, a bright red, torpedo-shaped jelly with stiff tentacles, seems to sparkle with blue particles in the darkness. When faced with a potential predator, the colobonema will detach tentacles as it flees, distracting the predator with the luminous strands that drift in its wake. The colobonema is a tiny midwater jellyfish, most of its length of five centimeters consisting of a trail of glowing tentacles, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in speed. Many species of jellyfish generate their own light as a defense or a distraction against predators. This ability is used to defend, distract, hunt, attract, communicate or even camouflage-by predators and prey alike. On land, there are several insects-fireflies, certain beetles-and varieties of fungi that produce their own light, but nowhere is it more common than beneath the waves. But the anglerfish is far from the only creature to make its own light, nor the most unusual looking.Īround 75 percent of all sea creatures exhibit bioluminescence. This fish is marked in the minds of many as one of the most horrifying creatures you are glad to have never encountered. The most notorious bioluminescent fish is probably the anglerfish-who could forget that scene in Finding Nemo? -with its bulbous body and fishing-rod-like appendage on its head that dangles a light to lure its prey. In this realm, devoid of light, most creatures generate their own through bioluminescence-living light. Up to 90 percent of all sea creatures live below 2,000 feet-mid-Twilight Zone (which transitions to the Midnight Zone at around 3,300 feet). Very little sunlight penetrates this stratum of water, creating a cold, dark environment, which is ironically where the majority of marine life is found. One study published this year by a research team led by the University of Exeter found that as much as two-fifths of the North American unagi samples they tested actually contained European eels, which are banned from importing or exporting.Around the depth of 600 feet, the ocean enters what marine biologists call “the Twilight Zone”-named not only because it is situated between the Sunlight Zone and the Midnight Zone, but because it is at this depth that things get weird. Federal law enforcement has also targeted illegal eel dealing and fishing. Maine has adopted new controls in recent years to try to thwart illegal elver fishing and dealing in the state. The worldwide industry for eels has been threatened by poaching for many years because of how valuable the fish are. They’re also harvested by members of Native American tribes in the state. ![]() Some fish in rural areas, while others harvest them in the state’s cities, including Portland and Bangor. Maine fishermen harvest the eels using nets in rivers and streams every spring. South Carolina is the only other state in the country with a fishing industry for baby eels, and that state’s fishery is much smaller. They’re not getting a lot out of Europe,” Pierce said. FILE – Bruce Steeves uses a lantern to look for young eels, known as elvers, on a river, Thursday, March 23, 2012, in southern Maine. Foreign sources of baby eels have largely dried up, and that has made Maine eels more valuable in recent years. Pierce, a former Maine state representative and adviser to the Maine Elver Fishermen Association. The price was a tick below last year’s, but higher than the previous two.įishermen this year have been aided by favorable weather and strong international demand, said Jeffrey K. The fishermen are limited to a combined quota of a little less than 10,000 pounds per year and were about through it by early May, the department said. The elvers have again been worth more than $2,000 per pound at the docks this year, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. ![]() They’re raised to maturity so they can be used in Japanese food, some of which is sold in the U.S. ![]() That makes them one of the most valuable fish species in the U.S. PORTLAND, Maine - Fishermen in the U.S.’s only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels once again had a productive season searching for the tiny fish.īaby eels, called elvers, are often worth more than $2,000 per pound because of how valuable they are to Asian aquaculture companies.
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